Denny Doyle

Robert Dennis Doyle (January 17, 1944 – December 20, 2022) was an American professional baseball second baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, California Angels, and Boston Red Sox. Listed at and , he batted left-handed and threw right-handed.

Career Doyle attended Morehead State University where he played baseball and basketball. After not being selected in the 1965 MLB draft, he signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia Phillies. He then remained at Morehead to complete his degree, playing in the Basin League and Central Illinois Collegiate League. Doyle began his professional career in 1966 with the Class A Spartanburg Phillies and advanced through the Phillies' farm system, reaching the Triple-A level in 1969 with the Eugene Emeralds of the Pacific Coast League.

Doyle debuted in MLB in 1970, when he played in 112 games for the Phillies. While playing for Philadelphia, Doyle was involved in two notable near no-hitters. On April 18, 1970, Doyle registered a lead-off single in the first inning against Nolan Ryan of the New York Mets, which was the only hit Ryan allowed in a complete game effort. On July 18, 1972, Doyle broke up a no-hit bid by Steve Arlin of the San Diego Padres with a two-out single in the ninth inning. With two strikes on Doyle, Padres manager Don Zimmer had his third baseman continue to play shallow to guard against a possible bunt; Doyle then chopped a single that went over the fielder's head. No Padres pitcher tossed a no-hitter until Joe Musgrove in 2021; this was the closest any came to pitching one before then.

Doyle was sent from the Phillies to the Angels for Aurelio Monteagudo and Chris Coletta at the Winter Meetings on December 6, 1973, completing a transaction from four months earlier on August 14 when Philadelphia purchased Billy Grabarkewitz's contract from California. He played 147 games for the Angels in 1974 and eight games in 1975, batting .255 with one home run and 34 RBIs. He was Boston's starting second baseman in the 1975 American League Championship Series and 1975 World Series, Batter Fred Lynn lifted a fly ball to short left field. After Reds left fielder George Foster made the catch, Doyle tagged up and attempted to score the winning run. He was thrown out at home plate, which inadvertently helped set the stage for Fisk's subsequent game-winning home run. After the game, Red Sox third-base coach Don Zimmer told the press, "I was yelling 'no, no, no' and with the crowd noise, he (Doyle) thought I was saying 'go, go, go. In Game 7, Doyle tried to turn a double play to close out the sixth inning after a grounder went from the shortstop to Doyle at second base, but his throw to first base, influenced by a sliding Pete Rose, ended up sailing into the dugout to prolong the inning —the next batter, Tony Pérez, hit a home run to cut Boston's lead to 3–2 in a game the Red Sox went on to lose, 4–3. In a World Series that included five future Hall of Fame players, Doyle was the only player on either team to hit safely in all seven games.

Doyle returned to Boston for 1976 and 1977, appearing in a total of 343 Red Sox games across three seasons while batting .261 with six home runs and 111 RBIs. Doyle died on December 20, 2022, at the age of 78.